The Story Behind the Name...
"You can't have that, buddy" is a phrase I should have prerecorded so I can just press play. In January 2012 I gave birth to the sweetest, cutest baby boy in the world. Little did I know the road ahead of me. I made the decision before his birth not to breastfeed due to complications with my oldest so formula feeding was the route we took. After a few months, he developed a rash that we learned was eczema. Process of elimination discovered he had an allergy to milk. At 3-4 months old, we began soy based formula and immediately saw relief of his eczema. At that time, we were encouraged to not give him any foods containing milk, eggs, or peanuts as a precaution. His pediatrician told us that those allergies would be very likely considering a milk allergy presented itself so early. That knowledge plus various sinus issues prompted us to do allergy testing before he turned one year old. Having gone through the allergy testing process with our daughter, we knew what to expect with him...or so we thought. Our son was tested for a host of environmental allergens along with various foods. Due to the milk sensitivity already known, his allergist tested for casein (milk protein) as well. The testing showed high allergy to milk including the casein, egg whites and yolks, and peanuts. Oh. My. Goodness. Due to the levels of allergy, we were told not to give him anything that contained those ingredients NOR products processed in a facility with those ingredients. Cue mind overload for mom....
I have always been a label reader. I like knowing the calories, fat, fiber, etc that is in my food. However, I hadn't always paid attention to the ingredients. That all changed after January 2013. Have you ever paid attention to what is in your food? You would be surprised what is in there when you start looking. The FDA regulates that certain foods be clearly labeled, milk, egg, and peanut are among those. That isn't always the case. I learned to read every ingredient listed for those hidden words... Not only have I learned to read labels, I've been educating people in our lives on the importance of reading them as well. My son is in a wonderful daycare. A small, country one with many of the same teachers as my daughter started with years ago. But as with any where, accidents happen. One event a teacher gave him some gummy bears. Innocent enough right? Nope...I came home to my son waking up from a late evening nap with a swollen face. After a trip to the ER, steroid and epinephrine shots, the swelling went down and he was fine. I scheduled a follow up with his allergist and began researching what he may have gotten. After looking into it, we learned the gummy bears were processed in a facility with milk, eggs, and peanuts. The traces of those products on his food, caused a severe enough reaction to need a visit to the ER. After that, I became even more diligent in ensuring his caregivers understood the importance of what they give him.
I could write forever about the various instances and reactions. All of those instances are the inspiration behind the name. Sadly, I tell him way too often you can't have that!
I have always been a label reader. I like knowing the calories, fat, fiber, etc that is in my food. However, I hadn't always paid attention to the ingredients. That all changed after January 2013. Have you ever paid attention to what is in your food? You would be surprised what is in there when you start looking. The FDA regulates that certain foods be clearly labeled, milk, egg, and peanut are among those. That isn't always the case. I learned to read every ingredient listed for those hidden words... Not only have I learned to read labels, I've been educating people in our lives on the importance of reading them as well. My son is in a wonderful daycare. A small, country one with many of the same teachers as my daughter started with years ago. But as with any where, accidents happen. One event a teacher gave him some gummy bears. Innocent enough right? Nope...I came home to my son waking up from a late evening nap with a swollen face. After a trip to the ER, steroid and epinephrine shots, the swelling went down and he was fine. I scheduled a follow up with his allergist and began researching what he may have gotten. After looking into it, we learned the gummy bears were processed in a facility with milk, eggs, and peanuts. The traces of those products on his food, caused a severe enough reaction to need a visit to the ER. After that, I became even more diligent in ensuring his caregivers understood the importance of what they give him.
I could write forever about the various instances and reactions. All of those instances are the inspiration behind the name. Sadly, I tell him way too often you can't have that!
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